Former Councillor for Moseley and Kings Heath Ward, Birmingham, from 2004 to 2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Public meeting this Thursday to discuss whether or not Mike Nangle’s head should be included in the John F Kennedy mural

Public meeting this Thursday to discuss whether or not Mike Nangle’s head should be included in the John F Kennedy mural

A public meeting has been organised to discuss whether or not the former Labour Councillor Mike Nangle should be included in the mural of the forthcoming John F Kennedy memorial. The meeting will be held in the Irish Centre at 7.30pm on Thursday 25th October.

The meeting has been organised by John Fitzgerald, who was on the Birmingham Irish Catholic Committee in the 1960s that raised the funds for the original 1968 memorial. In attendance will be Brendan Farrell, well known and respected journalist in the British Irish community. Brendan helped raise money for the original 1968 memorial. Both John and Brendan helped save bits of the 1968 memorial when it was being demolish in 2007.

Both John and Brendan are against Mike Nangle’s head being included in the crowd scene around John F Kennedy in the mural. They would rather he is remembered with his name inscribed on the 1 metre high stainless steel plinth, which has been designed to allow prominent members of the Birmingham Irish community to be inscribed on her.

The decision to include the former Labour Councillor in the mural was taken by the new Labour administration without any consultation with the Irish community and against an earlier decision at a public meeting to not include new figures in the 1968 mural.

Carl Chinn will also be at this public meeting on Thursday.

John Fitzgerald will be on RadioWM tomorrow (Sunday) at 3.30pm to announce the public meeting.